Trivia Question of the Week

After a one-week hiatus for the holidays (Happy New Year's, everyone!) we're back. This week's trivia question: How many feathers does a bald eagle have?

Hint #1: The average person has about twice as many hairs on their head alone as an eagle has feathers on its entire body.

Hint #2: Just because it's called a "bald" eagle doesn't mean it's actually bald. Bald eagles have feathers on their heads, too.

Hint #3: Eagles have relatively few wing and tail feathers. The long feathers on the wings used for flight? Only 23 on each wing. The tail feathers? 12.

Hint #4: Most of the feathers on an eagle's body are contour feathers, small feathers that give eagles their shape, and down.

Hint #5: The colder the region, the more down feathers an eagle is likely to have. So an bald eagle in Florida probably has fewer total feathers than an Alaskan eagle.

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If you guessed that bald eagles have an average of 7,000 feathers, right on! This number varies seasonally, as well. During the molting season and in the height of summer, when the weather is warmer, eagles have fewer total feathers because of the loss of down.